Another celeb is playing the weight game.
Raven-Symoné has been in the media pretty much her entire life. Starting on The Cosby Show, going on to do tons of work for Disney, and now branching out as an entrepreneur, she is definitely a force in the media—especially as a young, black woman.
Known for her inspiring and empowering attitude, it is sad to me that her weight has always been an issue. Raven has never been a tiny girl, but she’s never been much more than average either.
However, ever since she’s been on her show, That’s So Raven, her weight has often been criticized. Her stance on the matter has always been one of indifference; she has often said that her weight does not dictate who she is, what she is doing, or why she is important.
At the recent People’s Choice Awards, however, she revealed her new, thinner self. While I do not take issue with her losing weight, as she seems like someone who does not bend easily to the pressures of the industry, I do take issue with the commentary surrounding her weight loss.
She is being praised for her new look, which isn’t surprising, but the language being used by commentators assumes that thinner is better, and that she looks better now. Comments like, “she looks damn good,” etc. (www.necolebitchie.com) are popping up everywhere.
However, Raven herself has something to say about the matter. She tells People Magazine, “Actually, now I wear bigger clothes because I don’t like the way people stare at me. I liked it before. Now, you’re just looking at me for the wrong reasons. Before, you were actually looking at me for a real reason.”
While I don’t agree with her hiding her new body, I understand what she means. Her self-confidence is unshakable and she is a great role model for girls and women alike.
Now that is so Raven.
— Miriam
I see nothing wrong with people saying she looks great. She does look great. So what? I can the problem if they were specifically saying, “She looks so much better than before!” But I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill here.
Simple: She’s going to gain it back in spades. Why? Because of the fact she’s feeling objectified in her “new” body. Been there, done that… bought the tee-shirt in size 2X.
I used to love That’s So Raven. It’s so enormously frustrating that the media focuses on her being fat or thin or anywhere in between, rather than her being the force that she is. She’s bright, she’s funny, she’s talented, she’s young and she’s stunning (no matter what she weighs) Surely that is of more importance than whatever number she has on her scale, or on her clothes labels.